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About a month ago in a roundup post, I linked to an article written on TPG about travel shaming. The post predicted that when some folks start to venture out of quarantine to travel, they will be shamed by those who believe it still isn’t safe to travel.
We saw this first hand when Leana wrote about a weekend trip to an uncrowded beach a few weeks ago after restrictions were lifted in Florida. She got some unflattering and downright hostile comments at the time.
Here we are, just a few weeks later, but I feel the public has turned the corner on travel shaming.
Travel Is Increasing
Looking at the daily TSA checkpoint numbers, people are starting to fly again. Numbers are not nearly up to where they were last year (still down over 80%), but the number of passengers is steadily climbing. That’s a good sign.
School is out in many areas, and people are forging ahead with summer trips. My Facebook feed is loaded with people heading off on summer vacations. Granted, they may not be the original vacations they booked. But, they are still packing up and heading out on road trips to different destinations. I haven’t seen any of them shamed or reprimanded in the comments.
Other bloggers are starting to fly and stay at hotels. Again, at this time just a few weeks later, I’m not seeing the travel shaming happening.
Why the Change?
It’s funny how public opinion can change rather quickly. The stats on Covid-19 in the US aren’t really that much better than they were just a few weeks ago. Sure, some states have fewer new cases, but other states have more outbreaks.
More states have reduced restrictions and opened up restaurants and other businesses. Is that why travel isn’t frowned upon anymore?
Or, are people just sick and tired of the quarantine, or disappointed that it didn’t work better, and now they’re just throwing in the towel?
I don’t know the exact answers. But, I can say that from my family’s point of view, we are still really struggling with what is “safe” and what is “unsafe”. Not just with travel, but with every day life. It doesn’t help that what we thought was true about Covid-19 a few months ago is being debunked and replaced with new information all the time.
My family has another vacation rental in a few weeks, and we might take a road trip to visit family. Will we do things that other might view as unsafe? Probably. But, I’m glad that travel shaming seems to be on the decline.
How is the travel climate in your neck of the woods?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I saw your post here, I liked that you work on traveling, once you see my site, I have written an article on this Ranthambore National Park Tiger Reserve (2020)
Funny how if we were out protesting the stay at home order, we were putting everyone else’s life at risk. Now if we aren’t out protesting with BLM we are wrong, too. Protesting with them, singing and dancing without distancing is great now!!
@Lynn Yes, in just a few weeks there is a world of difference in what is acceptable and what is not in terms of gatherings and social functions. But I’m still not comfortable with crowds that size while the virus is still around.
Right, but millions seem to have forgotten all about covid along with governors who join in the protests. Gov Waltz in MN went to the memorial for Floyd and allowed singing, along with no social distancing, while telling us we couldn’t have more than 25% in church with no singing. We also couldn’t have more than 10 for a funeral. Guess his own rules don’t apply to him!!
I would describe our current situation as “shelter-at-home lite”. We don’t go out to eat, and I mostly leave the house to get groceries and to get takeout. I also wear a mask when doing so. BTW, where I live, people have pretty much stopped caring.
I believe the threat of the virus is very real, so take measures to protect my family. That said, we do occasionally go to an uncrowded local beach where we can maintain distance from others.
I think it’s kind of bizarre how people get so worked up about Floridians and our beaches. Twitter is the worst, and why I do my best to avoid it. It’s basically go to beach=bad, don’t go to beach=good. The thing is, there are all kinds of beaches in our state, but media tends to sensationalize stuff, as always.
We also plan to go to a cabin in Georgia in a few weeks. There is some risk in doing so, but we will do our best to minimize it. For me, social distancing will be a way of life for the foreseeable future. That’s why I will be doing virtual school next year. However, I’ve also decided to make reasonable concessions based on inherent risk. We are in it for the long haul, and adding occasional (safe) recreation is the only way we won’t lose out minds.
@Leana The media loves showing crowded Florida beaches! We have a local lake “beach” not too far from us. It has been crazy crowded (we haven’t been–I don’t like swimming in muddy lake water but many people do). As far as I know, it’s never been on the news. People in Texas are completely over social distancing. I mean, there are rules at doctor’s offices and stores, but for the most part many people seem to be gathering and going out like normal. We are still avoiding restaurants and indoor places where the risk is higher.
‘Shaming’ is only effective if you listen to the opinions of others to live your life.
If you have Facebook or social media in general, the herd of humanity finds comfort in their mediocre lives by telling others what to do – so everyone is the same.
It’s why we have growing racism and violence.
People want others to fit in these nice little groups. – instead of being humans / individuals / actual people.
I’ve been traveling every week since January.
No one could travel shame me, because a) I don’t care what people think b) I don’t do social media in any way.
And it has been the most amazing travel experiences for me while everyone locked themselves inside to try to prove how noble and similar to everyone else they were.
Hard pass on living a limited life like that.
You all can be scared of the voice behind the curtain.
I’m living my best life by not paying attention to any of that noise at all.
Thanks for your perspective, George. I remember when you left a comment a few weeks ago about your traveling, and to me it seemed really crazy to be flying and going everywhere at the time. Now that everything has opened back up, it seems a little less crazy.
So will the non-travel shaming also end.? George says he doesn’t listen to the opinions of others, but seems to offer them to others. Isn’t George part if the noise, For instance: “You all can be scared of the voice behind the curtain.”
“I don’t do social media in any way.”??? George – You just did and you have before,
@Carl WV I haven’t seen much non-travel shaming going on, but I’m sure it goes both ways.